Emergency Evacuation Simulation
by Iniysa
Summary: After McCoy fails the EES test four times, he has only one last chance to pass. Jim will make sure his best friend passes, even at the risk of his own health. Inspired by a scene in Beamirang's story: Genesis.


Emergency Evacuation Simulation

By Lauren Freeman

A/N: This story was inspired by Beamirang's story: Genesis. I love that story! Unfortunately, I have been trying to get a hold of her for a while now with no success. Since this story was inspired by hers, I didn't want to post without her permission. But after so long... Anyways, I posted the scene she wrote, that inspired this one at the end of this story. But I encourage everyone to read her entire story, it's amazing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek. I am not making any money from this.

"Move, move, move!" Flight Officer Darlena Tejeiro's voice could be heard loud and clear throughout the hallways of deck five. McCoy knew this was all a simulation. The stars outside the windows were not real, in reality he was on earth in a very elaborate, almost full star ship sized simulation lab being tested. He also knew exactly what he needed to do, and how to do it; in order to pass this final exam and thereby pass his first year in the Academy. In theory it was all very, very simple.

Hear the evacuation order.

Prep all patients for evacuation. (In this case there were no patients.)

Head for the nearest evacuation point on your deck.

Wait in line for your turn, patiently.

Step into the tube made for only three people at a time.

Hold on.

Experience the extremely brief feeling of free fall.

Leave the tube and head for your assigned escape shuttle.

Buckle up and pray.

Bones was good up until coming up to step five, as had been proven three times now when he had tried taking this test, only to fail at getting into the tube. Perhaps if the tube were not basically a glass container on the outside of the ship he could pretend he was just on a ride at a horrible amusement park. But no, while you were free falling you got to see exactly where you were as you got sucked down under the ship. The very fact that he was on a ship was another thing all together. What was going to do when he had to go up to train on REAL ships, having to fly through space on REAL shuttles in his next year, he had no idea. That is if he passed this God forsaken test, this time. He was sure the Academy was not going to let him try a fifth time. In fact he was fairly certain he should not have gotten the third or forth chance.

Jim had passed this test the first time of course. Flying colors, perfect score. Then he had sat with him for hours before each try, coaching him on the steps. Describing in detail what was going to happen. Showing pictures and video of the experience. But alas, here he was, waiting in line, again; in order to shoot himself out of the ship. How had his life come to this? And when had he gotten to the front of the line?! No! He wasn't ready!

"McCoy! In the tube NOW!" Tejeiro's voice seemed to echo through his suddenly frozen head.

"I can't do this, I can't do this!" McCoy took a step back and was relieved to find there was no one behind him.

"Your shuttle cannot leave until you are on that ship! Your stalling can get everyone else on board your shuttle killed! Do you want that on your head? Get IN THE DAMN TUBE, NOW!"

McCoy took another two steps back, all he could see was the stars. He felt his breath hitch, the room swayed and he knew he was hyperventilating. Shit, he was going to need to find another job. Eventually Tejeiro stopped yelling at him and started helping him off the ship via a door. He did not really come back to himself until after he had be laid out on a bio table with an oxygen mask covering his face. Jim was standing at the foot of the table frowning, worriedly while a fellow doctor pushed a hypo in his neck to calm him down. Jim didn't say a ward as they motioned him out of the clinic and he did not see him again for two days.

"Get up Bones, it's test day." Jim's voice woke him from deep sleep. It was a Monday, he had no more tests, he was just waiting to be called in and told to leave. He had even already begun to pack.

"Wha?" McCoy muttered in confusion.

"Test day! I spent the weekend convincing the board to let you in the last EES test."

"I can't do it, Jim. I tried." McCoy muttered as he sat up with a yawn.

"I also convinced them to let me take it with you. I'll be right there with you the entire way. Now get up, we need to get to the Sim lab in an hour and I'm hungry." McCoy looked at him like he had a second head until what he said sunk in. Jim was taking the test again, this time from the medical lab; just so that he could help him pass. As much as he acted like having Jim as a friend was a real inconvenience with all the trouble he seemed to get them both in; honestly he didn't know if he would have made the first week here without his newly found best friend. He may not have even made the shuttle ride to the campus, for that matter. He couldn't think of a reality where he could have ever gone through the Academy without Jim Kirk.

He had stood up and gotten dressed before he was even awake enough to know what he was doing. It wasn't until he was standing outside the cafeteria that he realized he was doing this, again. His stomach turned and he stopped.

"Ugh Jim? I don't think it wise for me to eat before this particular test. Jim stared at him for a moment before shrugging in understanding.

"Yeah, okay. Just come sit down for a few minutes while I get some food for myself. That okay?" Jim asked, already heading for the buffet table. McCoy just shrugged and sat at their usual table. Jim seemed to take a lot more time picking what food he was going to eat, which bothered McCoy as that gave him more time to think about what he was unexpectedly about to do. Besides there were only three things on that bar Jim could have, everything else he was allergic to! Finally, Jim made his decision and sat down in front of him with an apple and two juices. McCoy's eyebrows shot up.

"It took you ten minutes to choose an apple and juice?" Jim just grinned and bit into his apple while passing one of the juices to him. McCoy rolled his eyes and drank the juice slowly.

They made it to the hanger in time to have their crew jumpers handed to them. Unlike real crews where only certain departments wore jumpers; in these remedial simulations, everyone got to wear them. You slipped them over your academy reds and zip them up. No need for locker rooms or extra time. They got in line to board and put on their jumpers as they waited. Jim talked none stop and that helped keep McCoy's mind off of what he was about to do, again. When they entered the ship, Jim followed McCoy up to deck five and into the infirmary. Here, he looked lost.

"It's really strange being in a blue jumper." Jim commented as he leaned up against a fake bio bed. Well he supposed they could be real, but McCoy had never seen them turned on. McCoy smirked and leaned against the one across from Jim.

"It's weird to see you out of red or yellow." McCoy smirked at the sour look Jim was now giving him.

"It's Gold, Bones; not yellow." McCoy just grinned.

"Attention Cadets and Instructors, the Emergency Evacuation Simulation Test will begin in thirty seconds. Please stand by at your stations." A female voice spoke over the inner-comm. McCoy's breath shuddered.

"So, where is the closest evacuation tube from here?" Jim asked.

"Just around the corner to the right." McCoy mumbled.

"How long does the line take normally, for that tube?"

"Less then three minutes." Bones mumbled. "Feels like seconds." Jim laughed.

"Man, the tube by the bridge had a line that took us at least ten minutes to get threw. There were so many people pushing and shoving you didn't know it was your turn until you were in the tube." Bones just shuddered at that little story.

"The Simulation will begin in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." The room began to hum and slightly vibrate. From here the test was meant to be quick. Since there was nothing else being tested, the red alert followed by the evacuation notice pretty much happened within minutes of the simulation starting. The whole thing was usually finished within thirty minutes. The red alert blared and while the medical staff simulated what to do in a red alert situation, Jim found himself moved to a corner and ignored. No one noticed him pull something small out of his pocket and put it in his mouth with only the slightest hesitation. The notice to abandon ship blared out and the medical crew all moved quickly out of the med-bay. Jim quickly moved to stand beside his best friend.

Jim could feel McCoy shaking slightly as they moved through the line. But he didn't say anything, instead his focus was on the fact that it was becoming harder and harder to drag in a breath. He could not let McCoy know about that yet until he was in a tube however. Finally it was their turn, Jim stepped in and saw McCoy stop.

"'ones..." Jim gasped out, wide eyed. McCoy looked up at his best friend and gasped. Blue, Jim's face was turning blue and he was leaning heavily against the tube. Bones didn't give it another thought, he didn't realize he had stepped into the tube, or that they had even dropped five floors. All he saw was his friend was not breathing and he knew that there would be a med kit in the shuttle, simulation or not. Jim was man handled into the shuttle and laid out on the floor as McCoy grabbed the emergency bag, pulled out the proper hypo and stabbed it into Jim's neck. The other medical staff surrounded them as they quickly stabilized their sudden patient and got him up and in the restraints of a shuttle seat. McCoy sat beside him, bucked himself up and immediately turned the tri-corder in his hand on his friend.

"What the hell, Jim!" Bones growled loudly. Jim was to weak to do anything but lean his head against the shoulder restraints. The tri-corder beeped telling McCoy that Jim needed oxygen. Before he could move to get the O2 mask the simulation was over. Tejeiro ran in looking more freaked then anyone had ever seen her as McCoy threw his restraints off all the while yelling at her to call for a stretcher. He grabbed the mask out of a nurses hands who happened to get her restraints off just a little faster then McCoy.

It wasn't until Jim was stable and about to be moved to the Academy Hospital for observation, that Tejeiro stepped up to him and slapped him across the shoulders with a grin.

"Congratulations, Doc. You passed the test with a perfect score. Good job!" She was grinning at the shocked look on McCoys face. Honestly he had forgotten he had even taken it. Damn kid was going to be the death of him.

END

**The scene that inspired my short story: from _Genesis_ by _Beamirang_**

_- Chapter One – Spock - _

"Did you know the Academic Board tried to kick McCoy out in their first year?"

Recalling the doctor's records, Spock had no recollection of such a black mark. He had been responsible for the recruitment of all crew-members, even ones such as Doctor McCoy, who had been assigned to the Enterprise on Pike's request.

As had James T. Kirk.

"I did not know that."

"Hm. Yes." Pike did not look concerned by the matter. If anything, he seemed to be recalling the incident with great affection. "He failed the EES. Four times."

Of course. Cadets were required as part of their academic portfolio to undertake an Emergency Evacuation Simulation as part of their first year examinations. The test was designed to assess an individual's ability to maintain courage and composure during the forced evacuation of a starship.

While Spock himself had found the test to be trite and uninspired, the majority of the student body found it a more daunting task than even the _Kobayashi Maru_. Failure to pass the EES would prevent a cadet from completing the requisite credits to proceed to the second year. The _Kobayashi Maru _on the other hand, as feared as it was, might not so affect a student's record.

That McCoy had failed the test four times was unheard of. "Am I to assume correctly that the Academic Board took this as a sign of his unsuitability for placement?"

"And the rest." Pike agreed. "They gave him more opportunities than anyone has ever had before because the man is a medical genius. It would have been a criminal waste of his talents had he not been allowed to resit for a final time."

"Might I inquire what parameters changed in order for the doctor to succeed after prior failure?"

Pike laughed again. "Kirk convinced the Board to let him take the test with McCoy."

Spock nodded his head. The EES, like the _Kobayashi Maru_, was designed as a multi-person simulation. However, "That would not have any affect on an instructor's assessment of the doctor's performance."

"No. It wouldn't." Pike chuckled. "And he probably would have failed for a fifth time had Kirk not stopped breathing less than a minute after the Sim. started. McCoy was so distracted keeping the kid alive that he forgot all about the test and passed with flying colors.


End file.
